Expert: webfoot - 9/25/2006

Question
My son was involved in an accident on way to work. Not his fault. His car was not driveable as wheel was bent and later found the frame was bent. The other insurance carrier did not return his calls for 2 days - he was trying to get a rental car - which was approved late saturday afternoon.  No rental companies open. Is he entitled to 2 days lost wages due to no transportation?

Answer
We all have a legal obligation to mitigate our own damages and go on with life, which means that your son was free to rent a car at any time to avoid losing wages.  He also could have taken public transportation or a cab and submitted the receipts for reimbursement.  The fact that he chose to sit at home instead does not make them liable for lost wages.  I'm not speaking my personal opinion here but telling you what common law states on the matter.  The insurance company may or may not take this position, but they are intitled to it by law.

There are no laws or statutes anywhere stating that an insurance company has to absorb any claim costs up front, especially when they are presented with a 3rd party claim (like your son's) and are bound by law to verify certain loss facts before making any payments.
Legally, insurance policies are only required to reimburse people for their losses.  The fact that they eventually did set up a rental is only a good will gesture and a way for them to guarantee a discount on the car.  That this was done in only two days is actually very unusual in the industry and I'm guessing this only happened because their insured quickly reported the claim and admitted fault.  Some very small insurance companies only handle rental on a reimbursement bases.

This duty to mitigate damages also extends to storage charges on vehicles in tow yards or body shops so you may want to ask them about that issue as well.

Another example of mitigating damages would be if a tree fell on the roof of a house.  The insurance policy will cover the damage that the tree caused to the dwelling, but may not have to cover additional damages caused by water if the owner failed to take action to avoid further damage such as having the tree removed and covering the hole with a tarp ASAP.  Though the competetive market demands that insurance companies respond with money only hours after an event, they legally have anywhere from 1 to 12 months to pay a claim.

The insurance company is generally only responsible for damages caused by direct acts or foreseeable negligence of their insured.  The person who hit your son was responsible for that act. They are responsible for the damage to the vehicle, cost of alternate transportation, medical expenses, etc.
The fact that your son chose to stay out of work instead of renting a car is not something that the other individual had any control over, nor could they foresee such an event.  Maybe your son had no money for a rental.  Even so, the other party had nothing to do with that either.  Now, in cases where the 3rd party cannot do anything about a related loss, it may be handled differently.  One example would be someone on their way to a non-refundable event, such as a concert, cruise etc. is in an accident and cannot make the event under any circumstances.  The loss of value may be reimbursed in such a case.  

What you may be able to ask for is what it would have cost to rent a car.  However, as the expense was not actually incurred at the time, payment of such a claim will only be for good will.

Good luck!